Back to normal
by ScareGlow
Summary: After Mad Dogs and Aliens, Dr. Drakken and Shego have a few things to sort out. WARNING: season 4 spoilers! R&R please!


Disclaimer: I do not own Kim Possible or any of the show's characters (unfortunately). This fic is written solely to entertain; I do not earn anything (except reviews).

The episode "Mad Dogs and Aliens" left me wishing for some Drakken/Shego interaction, so I came up with this one-shot that takes place directly after the episode. Please tell me what you think about it; I might go back and change a few details here and there. Other than that, enjoy!

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Shego left the ruins of Dr. Drakken's lair feeling pretty good about herself. True, she had helped Kim Possible against Warmonga, but it had been a small price to pay. Now, the annoying alien had left to find the real Great Blue, and she would get another shot at the red-headed teen soon enough. Contrary to what she'd told Kim, she didn't plan on returning to Greece; now that Drakken was out of prison, he'd no doubt come up with another scheme very soon, and he would of course need her help with it. Where was he anyway? Shego looked around. Warmonga had literally thrown the blue-skinned scientist out of the remnants of his lair, but since the lair was on an island and therefore surrounded by water, she was pretty sure he'd swam back to the island. Where else could he have gone? After a few more steps, she discovered a figure lying on the beach. "Yo, Dr. D! The princess has left!" There was no response, and Shego raised an eye-brow. "Hey, Dr. D! I said Kimmie's gone! You can get up now!" Still nothing. The green-skinned villainess finally started to become worried and hurried over to her employer. "Dr. D?" When she reached him, she noticed that his eyes were closed, that he was shaking violently in his soaked coat and that he seemed even bluer than usual. Laying a hand on his forehead, she noticed that he was glowing. "Oh snap!"

In that moment, Dr. Drakken opened his eyes. "Sh… Shego?" he asked in a feeble voice.

"Yeah, Dr. D, it's me. Come on, we gotta get you back into the lair."

He coughed. "No… leave me alone." His voice was still weak, but there was a harsh tone in it that stopped Shego from her attempt to lift him up.

"What?"

"You heard me." He was still shaking like a leaf and on the brink of losing consciousness again.

"Dr. D, you're running a temperature. You don't know what you're saying. Now let's get back to the lair and…"

"No!" He coughed again from the effort. "I may be having a temperature, but I'm not delirious."

Shego was tempted to interrupt him with one of her sarcastic remarks, but she refrained from doing so as her employer continued.

"I've always thought of us as a kind of evil family, but since the diablo plot went south, I've had to discover that I clearly am the only one who thinks so. You didn't break me out of prison, and today you even sabotaged my scheme to get rid of Kim Possible. I knew I never had your respect, but I thought I at least had your loyalty. Seems that I was wrong once again."

"Dr. D, I…"

"You're fired, Shego."

This statement was followed by an eerie silence.

"Say what?" Shego finally asked with wide eyes.

"I said you're fired, Shego. So go ahead, do your little happy dance and then leave me alone." He sank back, panting and still shaking.

Shego just stood there, dumbfounded. "You… you can't fire me, Dr. D! You need me!"

Drakken tried to chuckle, but it just turned into another coughing fit. Finally, he managed to mumble an answer, his eyes heavy with exhaustion. "Beg to differ, Shego. I am perfectly capable of…" At that moment, he finally blacked out.

Shego looked down at the shivering, unconscious form of Dr. Drakken. He had fired her! Shock and surprise gave way to anger. How dare he? Without her, he was nothing! Or was he? Doubt began to creep into her mind. When she had first met the evil scientist, he had already been a known face in the criminal world, and while that may partially or even largely have been due to his blue skin, it couldn't be denied that he had managed to pull off a number of thefts to raise money for his schemes. His inventions had had potential, and when he'd offered her a job as his sidekick, she'd happily agreed to it.

Looking down at him now, she realized something. Through all her sarcasm and snide remarks, all her put-downs and mockery, he'd always been loyal. He'd come for her when he thought she was being held prisoner by Aviarius; he'd taken her back after she'd left him to work for the Seniors; he hadn't taken advantage of her when he had her under mind control or when she was under the influence of the moodulator chip (and she shuddered to think what other men might have done in those situations). He was one of the few persons that truly respected her. Of course he could be annoying as hell and often was, but somehow, he had grown on her.

With a deep sigh, she finally picked up his body and carried him back to the lair.

When Dr. Drakken woke up, he noticed that he was in his bed and wearing dry clothes. He felt tired and was sure he'd need to stay in bed for a few days, but at least he wasn't lying outside, shivering. The question was how had he come here? He remembered talking to Shego and firing her, but he couldn't remember anything beyond that.

In that moment, the door opened and the very woman he'd just thought about entered the room.

"Shego?" he asked in disbelief. "What are you doing here?"

She crossed her arms before her chest. "Well, I carried your blue butt all the way up here, and by the way you should lose some weight, so I at least wanted to see how you are doing now."

He blinked several times. "But… but why? I fired you."

She lowered her head a little. "Yes… you did. But there was no way you could've got back here on your own."

Drakken's eyes narrowed. "So? What do you care?"

Shego gasped as her eyes widened. "What?"

His derisive glance seemed to mock her expression. "Oh please, Shego! You don't want to tell me you care one bit if I live or die!"

"Of course I do!" Shego replied heatedly. When one half of his mono-brow rose questioningly, she sighed, all her anger leaving her. "Look, I know I was pretty harsh in the past, but that's who I am, and you've always known that."

Drakken took a deep breath. "Yes, I do, but that's not what I'm talking about, Shego. You see, while I don't like your attitude, I've grown pretty much used to it by now." He sighed. "But I could always trust you, and I can't do that anymore. You didn't come back for me after you'd got out of prison, and now you even helped Kim Possible against me."

He seemed like a sad puppy, and somehow, the full meaning of his words sank in with her this time. The loyalty and respect he'd always held for her were lost, and she almost panicked at that thought. "Dr. D, it… it wasn't about you, it was about that Warmonga! I didn't help the princess against you, I helped her against her!"

Drakken just shook his head. "It's the same thing, Shego. She was on my side and carrying out my scheme."

The green-skinned villainess felt desperation rise inside her. "No, it's not! I was just focussed on her! It had nothing to do with you! I would never work against you!"

"And why not? Now that you're not working for me anymore, I'm sure there are plenty of villains who'd love to hire you!"

Anger welled up inside Shego. Why couldn't he just let it go? Why couldn't things just be as they'd always been? She hated having this kind of talk! At the same time, she knew that he wouldn't relent unless she answered. "How about I don't want to work for anyone else! How about I am perhaps more loyal than you think!" she shouted.

Drakken, however, remained unfazed and just looked at her.

After a few seconds of silence, during which she realized that she wasn't going to get out of this one the easy way, she slumped slightly, her voice growing rather faint. "You said you considered us a kind of evil family. I… I guess you're not the only one who feels that way. Please don't make me elaborate."

Another long silence fell. Finally, Drakken spoke calmly. "So you're asking me to take you back?"

"I… well… yes, I guess I do."

"And what about the next time I have an ally you don't approve of?"

Shego swallowed hard. He was really making this hard for her. "Dr. D, you know me. I won't… I mean… Can't… can't you just say I'm back in? Isn't that what families do?"

Drakken looked at her. He knew this was the best sort of apology he'd ever get from her, and if he was completely honest with himself, he didn't want to let her go. Still, there was a nagging feeling of doubt that he couldn't just shake off. "I guess it is, but you'll have to put some work in, too."

Shego felt a relief that surprised her in its intensity. "I will! I'll even cut back on the mockery!"

Drakken almost laughed. "Don't make promises you can't keep, Shego. Old habits do die hard, after all."

Shego sighed. This once, she'd give him some support; he had deserved it after all. "You know I don't mean half of what I say, Dr. D… and… and I… I do respect you."

He seemed truly and deeply surprised. "You… you do?"

She growled. "Yes, but if you ever even mention I said that…"

He just smiled at her threat. "Thank you, Shego."

She shrugged uncomfortably. "Whatever. So are we back to normal?"

"We're on the way," he replied, still smiling.

She nodded and gave a small smile despite herself. "Right." Her smile vanished as quickly as it had come, though, when she asked: "Do we have to hug now or something?"

Drakken's face turned into a mask of shock. "What? Heavens, no!"

She had to smile at his expression. "Right. I guess I should get a few henchmen to start with the clean-up. The lair is a mess."

He nodded. "Yeah, do that, Shego. I'd better stay in bed today. Oh, could you get me some paper and a pen? I think I'll start working on my next scheme while I'm confined to bed."

"Sure thing, doc."

And so Dr. Drakken and Shego returned to their former state of mad scientist and lippy sidekick; and if Shego brought a cup of hot coco-moo along with the writing utensils, and if Drakken kept his rant about his latest idea short, it was just part of their effort to return to normalcy. Who cared about a few niceties or a couple of smiles that hadn't been there before anyway? After all, they were a kind of evil family.


End file.
